Reader Comments (21)

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Will Mabon 1Posted
31/05/2017 at
18:24:46

Not a bad read and paints Everton in a nice light. The US has certainly improved its knowledge and understanding of "Soccer".

Peter Fearon 2Posted
31/05/2017 at
20:25:44

There is a big Everton diaspora in the USA, as was evident when we played at the RFK stadium in Washington DC a few years back. We would be better off playing pre-season games in the US than say in... oooh I don't know  Tanzania.

Andy Bulmer 3Posted
01/06/2017 at
15:03:02

My great uncle played in the Everton baseball team that this column refers to. Dixie Dean also used to play in the team as well. Great old times by all accounts...

Will Mabon 4Posted
01/06/2017 at
18:51:17

Andy, nice story. I'd never heard about it until this thread.

Jim Hardin 5Posted
02/06/2017 at
21:47:39

Everton should worry about being known as the best team from Liverpool before they go on to being a "giant of the modern football world." I am tired of people asking me where exactly Everton is and being surprised there actually is another Premier League team in Liverpool. Over here we don't generally have multiple teams in cities in the same sports. We also put the city in the name of most of our teams so we can figure it out.

Please come back to the USA on a tour, instead of just sending the youngsters to Texas. FFS, I have seen Stoke and Burnley as many times as I have seen Everton over here.

Liam Reilly 6Posted
03/06/2017 at
08:15:33

Enjoyable read, especially the legends of Dean and Babe Ruth coming together. There must be a picture of that hanging around.

Dave Abrahams 7Posted
03/06/2017 at
09:22:32

Good article and as Will (1) says it paints Everton in a good light, it even got me excited about Everton's future.

Dave Abrahams 8Posted
03/06/2017 at
09:26:42

Liam (6) I think Dixie and Babe Ruth met at Chelsea's ground when Everton were playing there. I don't know if any photos were taken but imagine they would have been, given how big their reputations were at that time.

Martin Nicholls 9Posted
03/06/2017 at
10:02:44

Liam (#6) and Dave (#8) â€“ I was certain I'd seen such a picture (sitting next to each other in a changing room?) in my EFC "library" but cannot readily lay my hands on it. I'll keep looking!

For what it's worth, there is a picture of Dixie (with two unnamed team mates) in baseball gear on page 64 of Ken Rogers' book "One Hundred Years of Goodison Glory".

Tony Hogan 10Posted
03/06/2017 at
10:31:50

Jim Hardin (#5),

I agree 100% with your comments. I watched an Everton v Man Utd game in Orlando with an Irish Man Utd supporter who asked me the same question. If people from a country a few hundred miles away don't know where Everton play, the club needs to ask if it is doing enough to promote itself.

Kenwright and his cohorts show too much political correctness to our nasty neighbors and are afraid of offending them. Kenwright reminds me of the family dog that prefers to roll over and have its belly stroked instead of biting the postman.

Ian Hollingworth 11Posted
04/06/2017 at
09:48:02

When on holiday in the USA, I spend a lot of time explaining to Americans who Everton are and the history etc, especially being around before the RS.

There is a lot to be done globally to raise our profile but articles like this can only help.

Alexander Murphy 12Posted
06/06/2017 at
07:42:15

Enjoyed the article. Nice to see Everton talked about minus the tedious cliches that pass as journalism in the English/British media. (Despite my suspicion that this was actually written by someone this side of the Atlantic.)

This appears to me as another example of the wider, more active and constructive mindset of Farhad Moshiri.

Did this bunch just pop round to Goodison Park & USM Finch Farm?Very much doubt that, far more likely that they were sold the idea from our end. I most certainly hope that is the case, because it would be far more encouraging to see us being the instigators.

As to the issue of city of origin. If Everton were to become widely supported throughout the USA then it wouldn't matter which city people there thought we were from.

Given a map of the British Isles, many couldn't show you whereabouts our capital city is, let alone Liverpool.

We are Everton. Once people discover us then our true locality will become second nature to them. All the more so with our iconic waterfront football ground (not stadium) and the Royal Blue Liver Building.

More such efforts required in the USA, enlist our ex-players NOW and initiate momentum.

John Barnes 13Posted
06/06/2017 at
09:27:04

Juventus are easily identified... as a big team rather a Turin based team.

And London doesn't have a team?

Ray Robinson 14Posted
06/06/2017 at
09:34:51

John (#13), it's true that London doesn't have a team with the city's name in it, but if you were setting up a new team to compete in any sport (eg, rugby league, American football etc, you would definitely include it. The world has moved on since the village mentality of the early football years.

Ray Roche 15Posted
06/06/2017 at
09:46:33

Ray, West Ham have added "London" to the badge on their shirts and elsewhere.

Mike Galley 16Posted
06/06/2017 at
10:34:24

All this talk of people in other parts of the world not hearing of us, or not knowing about where we are located, has got me thinking about the new ground. Assuming it's going ahead, would it not be a good idea to try and incorporate Merseyside into the grounds name?

Obviously, we wouldn't put the city's name on it (for obvious reasons) and there will probably be some sort of deal done with regards to naming rights, but it could help with regards to raising the club's profile.

John Barnes 17Posted
06/06/2017 at
12:22:54

Ray R,

The point I was making was regarding profile rather location name which in we have some way to go to match Juventus. The Premier League is watched all over the world so every team's name and location is well broadcast.

I watch from the Middle East where every game is broadcast live, stadium locations are given a "Google Earth" type zoom. So, interest in a team can be escalated via results and broadcast on the main channels, panel analysis etc on separate English and Arabic, even French and Spanish channels. Burnley are highlighted as much as any other team outside the media darlings. Brighton will be next season.

But then midweek comes around and the usual suspects from England are joined by the other Champions League teams and more international exposure.

There's the trick  getting on the Champions League gravy train

Alexander Murphy 18Posted
06/06/2017 at
12:49:01

John, your posts 13 & 17 illustrate the city of origin very well indeed.

Our need, surely is to become known for being Everton?An article such as the headliner here where USA Premier League fans of no particular allegiance are virtually encouraged to follow Everton for NOT being the favoured few is exactly the route for the club.

Forgive my repetition here, but whilst Howard & Donovan are both fresh in the memory and much respected plus Moore & McBride frequently broadcast as experts on the English game, then surely EFC should have these guys involved as US Ambassadors on our behalf ?

No other Premier League club has as many US internationals of such note.

Aside from the main theme, interesting to see acknowledged how openly framed and manipulated was the sports media back then in the US, with at the time a huge socio-economic influence that should leave few in doubt about the links between sport and governance; this essentially a century ago. Wise to bear in mind.

A great read though, with no romantic tales disproved, just as it should be!

Mike Gaynes 21Posted
19/06/2017 at
21:32:22

Alexander (#12), the article was written by Martin Rogers, a Southern California writer who covers the NBA and US Soccer. He's a longtime friend of Donovan, and the idea for the story may have come from the little fella...

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